Remember in middle school/junior high when everyone was working against stopping bullying? Remember when we heard about countless issues of students dropping out or hurting themselves because of bullying and we wanted to do everything in our power to stop it? Why did that movement ever stop? Why is nobody talking about bullying anymore? If you think that bullying has ceased to an end...you are very, very incorrect.
Bullying is unfortunately still alive and well, and nobody is talking about it. Statistics show that in 2016, 64% of students who were bullied did not report it, and only 36% of students reported harassment or bullying. So why are we pretending that it is not happening? Is it because we don't see it, or because we don't want to think about it? Either way, bullying is still a huge issue in middle school and high school. You don't have to have fancy statistics to show you, just look around you and you will see it everywhere.
The most common type of bullying has been cyber bullying, or online bullying, especially within younger teens. Scroll down your Facebook timeline and you are bound to see at least one case of bullying. Example: someone posts a personally revealing status about somebody, tags them in it, and name calling happens in the comments. It happens all the time, every day, right in front of our eyes. Yet we sit back and let it happen.
At school, walk down into the cafeteria and you are certain to find some form of bullying. In schools, "cliques" and "groups" are common among students. Not allowing somebody to sit next to you, or treating somebody badly because they try to associate with you and your friends actually happens frequently even if we don't think it does anymore. Also, it is common to see people who are different being bullied more than anybody else. By "different" I mean, somebody with a different sexuality than you, somebody with different opinions/views/beliefs than you or somebody who has different interests than you. If someone is different than the rest of the crowd, chances are they are being bullied and we don't even recognize it.
So how do we recognize bullying, and how do we stop it? There are many forms of bullying including verbally (name calling, yelling, insulting etc.), physical (pushing, hitting, kicking etc.), cyber (any harassment on internet or social media), and neglect (ignoring, laughing at someone, excluding someone on purpose etc.) are just the most common forms. How do we stop this? I'm sure you have all heard before that if you see any of these things happening that you tell somebody of authority or step in yourself and save this person from harassment. Otherwise, you can always go up to the person being bullied and try to help out. Be their friend, be a shoulder to lean on, and stick up for them. It can change a life and make someone extremely happy.
Why is bullying being overseen? Sadly, it is because we have become so immune to it. We see it every day. Therefore, it really has no affect on us anymore. People are so blind to it that we don't know what bullying is unless it is straight forward and seen by everyone. Teachers even see bullying, but deny that it has ever happened. Principals will do nothing to help situations, and people just want the victims to "deal with it." The first step in solving a problem is realizing there is one, so if you see somebody getting bullied, tell somebody else and get help for those people. If you are the one being bullied, just remember that you are worth more than you think. One day, you will become something wonderful. You are a beautiful person.
The moral of the story is don't sit back and let these things happen. People are mean, and some don't care how mean they are to others. Don't act like things are just going to "get better." Be the change you want to see in other people. Stand up, be brave, and make somebody's life a little better.
Someone that you know, that walks the same hallways as you every day, needs a helping hand right now.
Bullying hotline: (1-800)-273-8255 (stopbullying.gov)
